Identification process of PIA crash victims to be completed next 24 hours

KARACHI: Sindh Forensic DNA and Serology Laboratory (SFDL) at the University of Karachi has said it will complete the process of identifying bodies of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) air crash victims in the next 24 hours.

According to a press release of the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) at the University of Karachi on Sunday, the SFDL has completed a total of 37 cross-matches so far, and their reports have also been dispatched to the Sindh police department.

The spokesman of ICCBS said SFDL with the help of 20 scientists and volunteers is currently engaged in the massive undertakings of identifying bodies of unfortunate victims of the air crash.

According to the statistics, maintained by the SFDL, as many as 67 samples have been received from the families of the victims, and 69 samples of the victims have also been received from the police department so far.

SFDL is the first of its kind facility in Sindh that specializes in the detection, identification and analysis of human DNA from evidence samples collected by law enforcement agencies from crime scenes.

Earlier, while sharing data for the identification of bodies recovered from the PIA plane crash, the chief minister said that out of 97 bodies, 75 have been identified and handed over to their families.

“Now, eight bodies are in the mortuary of Chippa and 14 at Edhi,” he said. He added that the process of matching the DNA of the remaining bodies is in progress.

He assured that the DNA matching of the bodies was underway and that they would be handed over to the families soon after identification.

On May 22, the PIA plane had crashed in the residential area of Model Colony near the Karachi airport minutes before landing.

The plane flying from Lahore to Karachi had 99 passengers on board including crew. Only two people miraculously survived the tragic incident.